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NZ Parliamentary Service utilises Blackberry software for BYODs

NZ Parliamentary Service utilises Blackberry software for BYODs

CIO Michael Middlemiss cites growing demand from staff for a secure file sharing platform and to do more work on mobile devices and tablets.

The sensitive nature of government work means there is a growing need to securely share documents, while retaining control of them across Parliament

Michael Middlemiss, New Zealand Parliamentary Service

The New Zealand Parliamentary Service has deployed Blackberry software for its mobile device management (MDM) system, for 460 staff and 260 out-of-Parliament staff nationwide.

Michael Middlemiss, CIO of the New Zealand Parliamentary Service, says there have been a number of requests for a secure file sharing platform, to allow members of Parliament and their staff to share documents with external parties.

''There is also a strong demand from members and support staff [who] are working more on their mobile devices, and even tablets.”

“The sensitive nature of government work means there is a growing need to securely share documents, while retaining control of them across Parliament.”

He says WatchDox by BlackBerry helped solve this issue. It allows members and staff to securely share DRM-protected documents, while retaining complete control of the content.

“We believe WatchDox is a valuable contributor to our data loss prevention strategy,” says Middlemiss, in a statement. “From a security point of view this gives us peace of mind, but importantly it allows our team to be super productive.''

In 2011, the Parliamentary Service launched a (BYOD) policy that supports a “whitelist” of iOS and Android devices.

“With such a range of devices used by our staff, we required an enterprise mobility system that was easy to deploy and maintain and not impact how staff use their devices,” says Middlemiss.

Middlemiss says last year the agency evaluated a number of products and they selected Good Work as the best system, “based on the fact that we don’t manage the device per se, we allow end users and members to manage their own device”.

He says one of the most critical requirements, was to be able to access each other’s calendars on the phone.

The members of parliament want their staff to see where they were and what events were coming up in their calendar.

“Using Good Work, members of parliament and staff like the ability to access delegate calendars to keep their busy schedules synchronised when on the move.”

“We are always looking at ways to introduce Parliament to new technologies if it is relevant to the business," he says of the MDM deployment. “But we are certainly focusing on our security functionality.”

Middlemiss says he is also a member of “quite an active network” of CIOs in Parliamentary Service in Australia and other countries, where they share information about their strategies. The group often has a monthly Skype session and MDM deployment was among the topics they discussed.


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Tags change managementBlackberrycareerGood TechnologyWatchDoxgovernment CIOBring Your Own Devices [BYOD]customer focusglobal ciowellingtonproject managercxMichael MiddlemissNZ Parliamentary Serviceprogram manager

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